Apple will hold a special event next Tuesday to introduce new Mac notebooks at its Cupertino-based campus after all.

The event

Invites sent to members of the media Thursday included an image of an aluminum Mac notebook with the tagline: "The spotlight turns to notebooks."

The event is set to take place at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, October 14th at the Apple Town Hall on the company's Cupertino, Calif.-based campus.

Apple has used the Town Hall venue in recent years as a more intimate setting for its Mac-related product announcements that are timed for release outside larger forums such as the January Macworld Expo and spring Worldwide Developers Conference.

Last July, the company used the Town Hall to introduce aluminum iMacs and showcase new versions of iWork and iLife. In February of 2006, a similar event was held to take the wraps off the now defunct iPod Hi-Fi and Core Duo Mac mini.

This year, the Mac maker is expected to showcase new families of matching, aluminum-clad MacBooks and MacBook Pros that may be priced more aggressively than its existing models.

An invited sent to members of the media | Credit Ars Technica

Potential pricing

A report published Thursday by the Inquisitr claims that some Apple retail stores have been provided with pricing sheets for new MacBook and MacBook Pro models, with prices ranging from $800 to $3100.

The author cited a source who says that the shops "usually" receive these pricing lists 10 days before products hit the market -- a claim that is not necessarily true. Should the price points prove accurate, however, they would imply that Apple is prepared to slash the price of its entry-level MacBook by more than 27 percent.

The current MacBook line is priced between $1099 and $1499, while the MacBook Pro family ranges in cost from $1999 to $2799.

The notebooks

On Thursday, people familiar with the upcoming notebooks confirmed to AppleInsider that an image (below) joins one from July (also below) in serving as an authentic capture of a portion of the next-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Another authentic photo showing the MacBook Pros base panel and top shell .

A new family of 13-inch MacBooks are expected to adopt a very similar design. AppleInsider has been following the story on Apple's next-generation notebook plans since April, outlining its expectations in a series of reports, each of which are listed below.

New photos which may reveal part of Apple's next-gen 13-inch MacBook design.

Previous reports on next-gen MacBooks

MacBook, MacBook Pro to get new aluminum designs (April)

Next-gen MacBook Pro casing design revealed, new battery cover (July)

New notebooks will include something other than Intel's Montevina chipset (July)

New MacBooks to follow iPods by several weeks; iMac bumps by mid-November (August)

I have no firm evidence to back this up; just a gut feel. But the aggressive price-points, the wholly-new aluminum body, perhaps colors, the 'I-can-have-my-cake-and-eat-it-too' Windows capability, and just the sheer 'Mac-is-back' feeling will conspire to make this debut one for the ages. I think there will be more converts from PC to Mac with this unveiling than ever before. The iPod/iPhone platforms are actually buoying the popularity of the Mac, which is kind of like a restaurant doing better with their meals because the desserts are so good.

I'm an iMac owner who also uses (and loathes) the PC/Vista platform. This will be my very first Mac notebook, and I can't wait to get it. No putting it on a credit card for me; I've been squirreling away $$$ since early this year--heheh--the wife is clueless--which will turn from paper into aluminum in one, quick transaction.

Can't wait to see what are the specs, and if apple really removes the FW from the macbooks, several industries rely on that, Video and Audio, and safe, reliable and fast storage... not
the crappy usb protocol with it's variable speed...

Judging by the size of the track-pad, I would say we're going to be getting multiple-hand-gesture MacBooks! Isn't it bigger than the current ones?

Assuming the leaked photo is correct, the trackpad looks about the same size and dimension as the current MacBook Air one. The flanges and screw holes kind of imply that it wouldn't be glass either. Almost certainly you can expect a MacBook Air like trackpad with the extra functionality that eliminates the need for mice. Anything extra is not so far indicated by any rumour I have heard and would be a bonus if it happens at all.

In Windows, a window can be a document, it can be an application, or it can be a window that contains other documents or applications. Theres just no consistency. Its just a big grab bag of monkey...

So from previous history, how soon after the announcement event are the units available for ordering at stores and online?

This would be my first Mac too!

Based on their hsitory, if they aren't available in the stores that day, they will most likely be available for pre-order with direct shipments happening from China and arriving with a week. two at the most. But things change, and we have no idea if they are having any issues with these new machines.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyopiaRocks

Will the "multiple-hand gestures" work with Parallels and Fusion? If I'm using vista can I give it the finger (and various other gestures I probably can't get away with alluding to in this forum)?

Synaptic has recently announced that they will be pushing a driver update, for free, that will allow mutli-touch trackpad gestures (llike what Apple has had this past year), but it needs to be adopted by the OS and the apps that want to use it, so I imagine that adoption will be slow going. This is one reason why Apple's HW/SW tying is helpful. Pros and Cons.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

I am so freaking excited! I am a PC user that is sick of Windoze! It makes me sick how Microsoft comes out with an OS and takes 1 or 2 more years to make it actually work right! (Think XP Service Pak 2 and 3, and Vista). I hate having to reboot for EVERYTHING.
I'm a photographer that is growing it into a side profession and my wife and I are going to start a family w/in the next 1-2 yrs and we'll be getting a camcorder prior to that chapter and shooting a lot i'm sure! I'm so looking forward to being able to handle all that much easier on a Mac!
I'm also bursting at the seams with lack of storage space so I've wanted to buy a new external drive but have been holding out for the Mac first so to avoid formatting frustrations.

Now i can kill all birds with one stone, the holiday season! Also, my company has an EPP for Apple and we just recently got bought out by a PC company so I don't know how long it will stick around! Perfect timing for all of this and I'm so glad the wait is OVER!!!

That lid looks exactly the same... Dunno what I expected. Well, yeah I do. I thought they might switch out the backlit apple and replace it with a shiny one like on the iPhone.

Looks to have more of a rounded edge to me.

The slight vertical crease on the top edge is a bit odd though. If it wasn't confirmed I'd almost say this was a fake invite. This is either a bad scan of a paper invitation or someone in the Apple art department needs new glasses.

Every MacBook I've ever owned (started off) with a flat top surface. I don't like this new "bumpy" model.

In Windows, a window can be a document, it can be an application, or it can be a window that contains other documents or applications. Theres just no consistency. Its just a big grab bag of monkey...

That lid looks exactly the same... Dunno what I expected. Well, yeah I do. I thought they might switch out the backlit apple and replace it with a shiny one like on the iPhone.

You might still be right, who says the mbp on the picture is the new one? If I look at the other picture off the top shell, it seems like that wasn't designed for the backlit apple, it only has a few holes and if I look at the back of my mbp it doesn't seem like that would give the same light effect.